What about Malaysia?

Dear Ali,

Your reader below asked the following question about
Malaysia
:

SkyliteSeven ______________________________________________________

"Dear Dr Ali Sina,

I was reading your article and you
threw a challenge by saying “Show me one Islamic country that is prosperous
and its people are free and happy or its jails are not filled with
dissidents.” I was wondering if
Malaysia
fits the bill. What do you think?

"

________________________________________________________

I want to clear up the confusion people have over
Malaysia
's status as an Islamic country. Muslims are especially fond of pointing to
Malaysia
as a successful example, but is it really an Islamic country? The Federation of
Malaysia, and I must stress the word FEDERATION, was formed in 1963 by
the former British colony of Malaya, the crown colony of
Singapore
, and the largely Christian states of Sabah and Sarawak in
Borneo
island. At the time of Malaysia's formation, more than 50% of its
population were non-Muslims - about 35% Bhuddist, 5% Hindu, 10% Christians
and 10% agnostics/aethiests,animists,taoists,ancestral worshippers. It inherited
its legal system and parliamentary form of government from the British. Islam
was named the official religion out of deference to the Malays but we have
to be clear that the federation of
Malaysia
was designed and formed to be a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual
nation.

How its non-Muslim population percentages declined to about roughly 43% today out
of a total population of 24 million was by kicking Singapore (today's population
4.5 million and 85% non-Muslim) out of the country in1965, giving PR and
citizenship to large numbers of illegal Muslim Filipinos from Mindanao and
Muslim Indonesians from Sumatra and Java (including Hambali, one of the world's
most wanted terrorists), and making the environment so hostile to non-Muslims
that an estimated 1 million fled to Western countries or to Singapore because
they felt their future was no longer secure in Malaysia. Like elsewhere in
the world, the birthrate of Muslims also exceeded that of non-Muslims. Still,
even at about 43%, the non-Muslim composition of this country is
nothing to be sneezed at. How this farce of being a Islamic country came about
was when the former dictator, oops, I mean Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir
Mohamad, unilaterally announced that
Malaysia
is an Islamic country to appease ultra-Islamists at home and because he wanted
to gain influence in the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries). He also
embarked on an Islamization exercise in the government when he came into power
in the early 1980's called "Penerapan Nilai Nilai Islam" or the
adoption of Islamic Values. He established Jabatan Islams or Islamic Departments
and elevated the status of the syariah court till even the National High Court
can be over ruled by the Syariah court!

As for
Malaysia
as a successful nation, much of the wealth generated in
Malaysia
are by non-Muslims. Most of the successful entrepreneurs and workers of global
MNCs are non-Muslims. The Muslims, since they control the government, have official
policies that discriminate against the non-Muslims. That's why many
non-Muslims convert to Islam for a better chance at promotion in the government
or to get government contracts and not because they believe in Islam. If any
reader doubts, this, they should visit
Malaysia
and see for themselves. The government goes around claiming
Malaysia
's achievements to be Islamic when non-Muslims contribute greatly to the
nation's success. This is a gross injustice. Many muslims around the world are so
desperate for a role model country that they quickly point to
Malaysia
not realizing much of what makes
Malaysia
successful is its non-Muslim population.

Nevertheless, as a result of this overt oppression of non-Muslims,
Malaysia
is actually less successful today than it should be. In fact,
Malaysia
should at the very least be as successful or more than
Singapore
, given its similar history as British colonies and the added advantage of vast
natural resources. But this is not the case. Tiny
Singapore
is richer and more advanced than
Malaysia
. It is very fortunate that many Malays do not really practice Islam or the
situation could be even worse! Malays, who were once Hindus, Bhuddists and
animists and are by nature gentle, easy going and playful, are also
feudalistic and obedient to their rulers and since their rulers tell them they
must be Muslim, they don't fight back. Sadly, the utlra-Islamists have
confused Malays so much many have lost their Malay identity and think they are
only Muslims or even Muslim Arabs! Those Malays that want to leave Islam are
threatened or denied legal status as non-Muslims. Google 'Ayah Pin' and 'Lina
Joy' for details. Living in Malayisa, where non-Muslims are under increasing
threat from Muslim authorities, I totally agree with you that Muslims have a
religious agenda and that is to eventually subjugate non-Muslims Kaffirs and
Dhimmis as required by the Koran. They will say one thing in front of
non-Muslims to placate them but in front of Muslims they will say another.

As for peace and tolerance, it is a one way street. Muslims tell non-Muslims,
don't speak up and don't talk about Islam and there will be peace and harmony.
Isn't that like extortion and gangsterism? Muslim groups even opposed an
inter-faith council this year saying it will threaten Islam! I invite all
readers to visit open forums like www.malaysia-today.net
and www.malaysiakini.com
to see what the real
Malaysia
is like and don't believe government propaganda or clueless journalists.